Murder on the 1st Degree
by cassidieissocoollike
Summary: "You do realize that if any of the information in this room is leaked out you will die correct?" "Yes… I understand." There was a long pause in the dark room; the spotlight was on the questioned while the questioner was concealed by the blackness. A secret agency AU
1. Prologue

Prologue

"You do realize that if any of the information in this room is leaked out you will die correct?"

"Yes… I understand." There was a long pause in the dark room; the spotlight was on the questioned while the questioner was concealed by the blackness.

"Good," he said finally turning the light on himself, "Because I would hate to see you go Agent Kirkland." Arthur smiled at the person. It was a fake one of course; in these sorts of adventures you never truly show real emotions.

It was enough.

"I know sir, what would you do without me right?" Arthur asked mockingly picking up his case files. This one was going to require help… old help.

"Replace you… just kidding! Don't look so serious. I swear sometimes I think _you're _the boss." The questioner said turning off the light completely.

"With all due respect sir, you do not seem like the type that would be a leader… I guess beggars can't be choosers." Arthur said pocketing the gun that had been taken away from him (and now returned) at the beginning of the meeting.

"I don't think that's the best analogy you've come up with but I'll take it." The one Arthur called sir said turning to smile coldly at him, his chipped tooth barely visible, a constant reminder to what had happened to _him. _No one really knew the story behind it; no one was brave enough to ask.

"Sir, I might need some outside help for this one, some assistance." _As much as I hate to admit it. _

"I thought you might… however, you do realize outside help is strictly forbidden unless I know these parties?" The ringleader asked the rhetorical question. His small face made him appear younger than he actually was, his height (not to be underestimated by the way) allowed him to seem innocent. He had naturally red hair and the greenest of eyes Arthur had ever seen (apart from his own), his nose was short and pointy and his skin was kissed by the sun and dotted over lightly with freckles.

"I understand sir but…" Arthur trailed off looking at the far distance in the seemingly never ending corridor. The walls were a dark grey and gave a chilling impression of being inside a maze (which might have been true to someone unfamiliar with the surroundings). There were small bulbs in the ceiling every six feet or so lighting the hallway enough to see.

Arthur could still remember the first time he was dragged down here through this very same corridor…

He shook his head and looked at his smaller boss (not that he was much taller to begin with).

"If you remember my past well-

"I try not to, it's not very pretty." The boss cut him off shuddering out of maybe something remotely close to _sympathy_.

"Well, as I was saying, these parties I want to request like it best when they are not well known, or at least _liked._ It's been ten years, I don't know if the customs of my fr-

Arthur cut himself off abruptly, catching the attention of his boss. The smaller man raised his eyebrows until they were hidden in his red bangs.

"…The customs of my old _colleagues _have changed." Arthur finished through a lump in his throat.

That was more than a close one, in this business _friends _were NOT allowed.

"I see… I suppose I might have to take your word for it. However, I might also have to send one of my own to watch over you, not that I don't trust you Artie dear it's just, that, well I _don't_ trust you, but then again I don't trust anyone." The boss finished as they rounded the corner and entered the outrageously lavish elevator. He pressed three buttons and pushed a key in, as they began ascending Arthur wondered what had come over him earlier. He shook his head again classifying it as some old lingering nostalgia.

"Including myself."

"Sir?" Arthur asked returning from La-La Land, something he should never do in the presence of his boss.

"I meant I don't even trust myself." The boss said chuckling, it was obviously forced for the benefit of the joke, but it did the trick.

"So do you understand?" The boss asked again this time his eyes hard as steel the color darkening a little bit.

"Yes, I do." Arthur said clutching the manila envelope tighter. This was going to be a _very _hard mission.

"Good, Richard!" The ever-present-even-if-it-doesn't-seem-like-it Richard came as soon as his name was called, he was taller than both the boss and Arthur, though he had less experience than both of them combined, he had jet black hair, grey eyes and transparent glasses, he was muscular but not overly so, and was fluent in five languages.

"Sir?" Richard asked, Arthur noticed something elapse between them… he just didn't know what.

"You will be accompanying Arthur on his quest," the boss paused for a minute, even _he _seemed to be acting strange, Arthur raised an eyebrow trying to add two plus two and make four. He was coming up empty.

_This is going to bother me more than trying to find my old _colleagues _will. _Arthur thought to himself rolling his eyes.

"Yes sir." Richard said nodding once.

"All right," the boss clapped once looking at both at them with hard eyes but smiling, "if you need me, don't." And with that he turned on his heel and walked away swiftly, he was merely a dot in the distance in less than a minute.

"What do we do first?" Richard asked returning to normal (if being normal meant standing impossibly straight and barely _breathing, _then yes, he returned to normal).

"Eat, we need to eat and I need to go over these papers with you _very delicately_, if so much as _one _ minuscule detail goes wrong, our asses will be handed to us on a golden platter by the boss himself, and then we die." Arthur commenced walking towards the exit doors Richard fallowing smoothly.

"The only time caution multiplied by precaution is _this _serious is when we have to kill someone." Richard said, having done his homework, in less than six months he was well acquainted with every aspect of his "job".

"Precisely my dear, that is exactly what we are going to do, but this is not _simple_ murder, nor is it a murder requiring an army, it's just the way the murder _itself_ needs to be portrayed that makes it so complicated." Arthur said entering his English styled car. Richard, having been born and raised in the America's was still a bit out of whack when he entered the passenger seat (which would normally be his driver's seat).

"May I ask _who _this person is?" Richard asked softly, he was still below Arthur's level of expertise, and he did slip up once in a while.

"No, you may not." And that was that.

As promised to Arthur's stomach by Arthur himself they stopped at a Chinese knock-off restaurant and ordered to-go.

"Take these to the car would ya'?" Arthur asked (more like ordered) Richard to do his bidding.

"Of course, should I wait there as well?" Arthur shrugged leaning against the counter waiting for that blackhead _idiot _to leave. Okay so maybe he wasn't an _idiot_ but Arthur needed the time alone.

"Is Yao here?" Arthur asked in fluent mandarin not looking at the person he was talking to.

"Who's asking?" The older gentleman replied with a question of his own. Normally this would have made Arthur very trigger happy and irritated, but since this _was _his first stop at recruiting his crew after _ten years_, he let it slide.

Just this once though.

"Tell him the _Queen of England _has finally arrived with his _tea_." Arthur said using an old nickname.

The older man nodded and left the counter presumably looking for Yao, he returned empty handed but did motion for Arthur to come with him.

"Arthur! It's been what? Ten years? Nice to see you haven't changed a bit." A voice from a dimly lit room rang out.

"Likewise…. Yao." There was a long pause and Arthur, for once, regretted ever joining the damn secret agency in the first place.

**Next Chapter: The year of the Serpent. **


	2. The Year of the Serpent

The year of the serpent:

* * *

"_Much easier than it looks isn't it?" a five year old Arthur asked his smaller three year old friend, he had just taught him to whistle. The smaller boy nodded eagerly, they were going to annoy the hell out of the adults!_

_A couple of days later Arthur was shaking slightly his hands clutching the bouquet of roses as the people around him mourned. He looked down into the 6 feet deep hole in the ground. He never noticed this before, but his friend had had the bluest of eyes. Someone tapped his shoulder and he looked up to see a stranger, he motioned for Arthur to throw the roses one by one as they lowered the casket. _

_Cancer was a bitch. _

_Every year after that on the day of his friends death he always whistles a tune, no matter where he is, or what he's doing for that entire day he dedicates it to him…_

_OOooOO_

"So let me get this straight… you're getting the gang back together?" Yao asked the look on his face pure surprise. He was older than he looked you know… much older.

"Yes, come on Yao, it would be like old times-

"Except it's not old times Arthur, I thought at first you might have died when _they_ took you…. It was a bit traumatic." Yao said his red kimono revealing a little too much for comfort… especially with the way he was sitting on his makeshift throne.

"I thought I _was_ going to die, quite the opposite actually, but that's the past now. Will you help me or not?" Arthur asked a bit annoyed and irritated, revisiting the past always made him either want to cry or shudder.

"How can I? You haven't even _said _anything, you just marched in here and demanded I come with you. You really haven't changed." Yao said rising and stretching his long black hair falling gracefully around his head.

There had been a point in time when Arthur found Yao attractive. He still did, but not how he did before.

"You do realize if I go Ivan goes?" Yao said locking eyes with Arthur. His movements were so lethal Arthur almost smiled when he remembered it was the year of the serpent. Almost.

"You and that Russian are still at it? I would think after ten years you would have killed each other." Arthur said bitterly. Not that he hated Ivan it's just the taller man gave him the creeps, and he hated people who gave him the creeps, and taller people in general.

"Yes we are still _at it_." Yao said tying his hair in a messy bun with his chopsticks. He turned a bit as if remembering something then smiled.

"You still remember our little game?" Yao asked lowly the smile widening until it was a face splitting grin.

"How can I not? You almost killed me with it… twice. Just so you know I've gotten better at it." Arthur said loosening the first button of his black shirt.

"Good, so have I." And with that five long, silver needles came out of both his hands and he aimed them at Arthur his 1000 watt grin still plastered on his face.

The next second Arthur was avoiding the needles skillfully, one wrong move and he could become chopped liver.

Yao sent the last needle directly soaring straight for Arthur's heart, before it even grazed his shirt he caught it and tried to split it.

If it split it meant yes, if it didn't it meant no.

Yao, loving the idea of false will, came up with this game at an early age when he realized how hard it was to make decisions. He practiced his martial arts and perfected his killing skills with the needles, however he noticed that they could be used for another purpose (given the man or woman he was killing or making a decision with was skillful enough). He had five yes's and five no's placed at random, then he shot them two or three at a time, if the opponent could avoid all nine and catch the tenth that was his decision, weather it was a yes or a no, was completely up to the fates.

Back then he realized that wood could split very easily and if not sharpened properly would only leave a painful splinter, but nothing more. So he invested in ivory, gold and silver needles. How they _split_ was simple, they (the ones that could) slid upwards separating them symmetrically.

Yao felt very proud of himself with his accomplishment.

Arthur sighed quietly in relief as the needle began to slide then he looked at it in horror. His eyes and hands froze as he realized the needle wasn't going any further than an inch.

"Yao… what does _this_ mean?" Arthur asked slowly looking up.

"Strange, I guess it's a no since you didn't manage to split them." Yao replied apathetically shrugging.

"Pity, if _you _came to me it must mean this mission, whatever it is, is something _you _can't take care of alone and that would mean _fun_. I suppose it's not meant to be." Yao said returning to his original sensual position on the chair, his hair falling back down.

"Shit." Arthur said losing his composure for a split second, he was about to slide the needle back to its original place when he noticed the engraving on the inside.

_Yes. _

"You sneaky little bastard." Arthur said throwing the needle back to Yao who caught it with two fingers without opening his eyes. He had a small smile on his face.

"I told you I had been practicing. Thank you for noticing. I'll be back out in a couple of minutes." Yao said flipping around the chair and going into the next room, not even a minute later he came out fully dressed this time with his hair in a ponytail a black tank top, black tripp pants, and combat boots.

"What the _hell _are you wearing?" Arthur asked admiring the somewhat gothic style.

"Clothes." Yao replied simply feeling a sliver of self-consciousness shimmy its way up his spine.

"Oh whatever, we'll have to go shopping for this mission anyways. You Asians and your clothing fads." Arthur murmured rolling his eyes, though in retrospect it did look good on Yao.

"Wait," Arthur said turning back around to face the small Chinese man, "where is Ivan?" Arthur asked curious. Though he didn't particularly like the guy he had a few _assets _he could use to his advantage. Primarily one having to do with melee weapons and a gun.

"Already in the car, come on let's go." Yao said turning off the lights and leaving the room.

Arthur sighed and fallowed, though he found it odd, _he _was supposed to be leading the way.

**Next Chapter: Game Plan**


	3. Game Plan

Game Plan:

_Arthur was twelve when he found out he was adopted. To say he was angry was an understatement. He spent the next five years cursing his parents for never having the courage to tell him from the start. He even jokingly wondered if he was adopted, the air had become thick that day, with awkwardness, as his parents tried to laugh it off. _

_Arthur never found it funny. _

_On his last year of high school he came down with a very severe illness, his blood type wasn't readily available so the doctors (having not checked his file) asked the parents for blood to save their child. _

_His parents had frozen up, his so-called mother trembling her eyes shooting back and forth from the doctor to her so-called son. _

_His so-called father hung his head in shame, and even through the thick haze that consumed him Arthur had enough consciousness left to smile bitterly and shake his head. _

"_I'm adopted." He said his voice soft and hoarse from the fever. He never even noticed the tears streaming down his cheeks steadily, like a little river on each side. _

_Of course he had known this for five years already, but the fact that his parents had to wait until he almost _died _made some parts of him numb and the others completely frozen. _

_He survived the illness, the doctors said it was a miracle. He viewed it as bad luck. _

_OOooOO_

"Is everything going as planned sir?" A tall man asked behind the boss.

"Yes, I knew I could trust Arthur with this." The boss said, not turning around, knowing the voice by heart.

"Does it still hurt H… when you think about it?" The tall man said a bit of sympathy leaking out into his words.

"How can it not?! He… that man… I…" H collapsed on the floor sobbing his slender body shaking and rocking back and forth.

"H… are you alright?" The taller man asked hesitant to approach his weeping boss.

"I'm fine… I'm fine, just, just get Richard for me… get him on the phone… I need to speak to him." H said rising from the floor revealing a very vulnerable side to him.

"Right away sir." The man said ready to exit.

"Oh and Andrew?" H said hovering very close a knife to Andrew's back his tone unlike anything it was two minutes ago.

"Sir?" Andrew gulped visibly, frightened suddenly by the change.

"Don't ever address me by my name again, even if it is the first letter, understand?" H said pushing the sharp blade just enough to cut the first layer of skin.

"Yes sir." Andrew said relief washing over him like an ocean when his boss pocketed the knife.

Andrew was the only one who knew half the story, and even then it was half too much.

_OOooOO_

"So… game plan?" Yao asked in his crooked English so that Richard could understand. Arthur had already introduced them all to each other and they were currently sitting on the roof of Arthur's apartment building, they had just finished eating lunch and were now lounging on this remote spot.

"Right, well first things first," Arthur pulled out the manila envelope he was carrying and laid it on the ground, everyone eyed it carefully but didn't make any attempts to touch it.

"The mission is in here, carefully detailed as to what we have to do, everything, and I mean absolutely _everything, _has got to go according to that plan… if not, I hope all your mothers are already dead." Arthur said his gaze hard and cold as he looked each one of them in the eye. Ivan smiled and shook his head.

"That important?" He asked his violet eyes shining with anticipation for a good mission, it has been far too long since he's had blood on his hands. He missed the good old days.

"Yes very, so important in fact that if I hear anyone else speaking about this mission I will kill all of you, including myself, I do not know what the boss has in store if I fail… I also don't want to imagine it, it probably has something to do with-

Arthur was interrupted by the generic ringtone coming out of Richards's pocket.

"It's the boss, I wonder what he wants." Richard mused as he answered the phone.

"_Richard… are you alone?" _The boss's voice was a bit shaky worrying him greatly.

"No, but I can be." Richard looked at Arthur for approval to be dismissed.

"We'll wait." Arthur sighed in exasperation of having been interrupted, yet another thing that irritated him.

As Richard left to have some privacy, Ivan eyed Arthur once again.

"Is there anything you _need_ Ivan, you keep looking at me." _And I don't like it. _

"Oh, I was just wondering… are you going to get _everyone_?" Ivan asked. Arthur felt annoyed, he knew where this was going.

"I said I would, didn't I?" Arthur said bitterly, bracing himself for what was about to spew out of the Russian's mouth.

"Even _Francis_?" Ah there it was, good thing he braced himself. That name always sent a shit-ton of feelings coursing through him, most of them bad.

"YES!" Arthur collected himself before speaking again, "even _Francis_." Saying the name alone made him want to curl up in a ball and die. It was that horrible.

"I mean, after what he did to you all those years ago I would think you would want to avoid him like the plague… I guess time _does _heal wounds, wouldn't you say Yao?" Ivan said doing everything he was doing on purpose.

"Stop Ivan, remember Arthur is _very_ trigger happy." Yao warned his voice stern towards the Russian who simply ignored him and continued his verbal torture on Arthur's already fucked up mind.

"Oh but all I'm saying is that Francis and he share such a _colorful _history I thought it would do him some good to revisit it." Ivan said smiling at every pained expression that managed to slip through the microscopic cracks. Arthur was doing everything in his power to ignore the words, to ignore the way the violet eyes danced with joy at Arthur's displeasure.

Arthur started pacing trying to keep his thoughts centered on the mission, trying to keeps his breathing in check.

Damn that fucking Russian, leave it to him to rip open barely healed scars!

"Ivan, please just stop, I brought you along because you're just as much part of the old team as I am, but if you continue I will have no choice but to send you back home." Yao said in a heavily accented English so Arthur could hear as well and understand that he was trying to help.

Ivan kept smiling but didn't say anything else. As much as he liked twisting the knife, he also liked missions, and this mission was the first he's had in ten years.

Arthur was glad to have the little Chinese man there, though he could do without the Russia, he still needed _everyone… _even _him_.

Richard returned before anymore animosity could be passed through.

"What did the boss want?" Arthur asked finally composed though his heart was still beating a bit harder than he liked.

"Said that we should continue what we were doing, I filled him in on our location and our current status. He also congratulates you on your quick find regarding the other parties." Richard said pocketing his cell phone.

"Great… is that all?" Arthur asked noticing the look on Richard's face which told him there was _definitely_ more.

Richard hesitated and closed his eyes.

"Sorry Arthur, the rest is classified." Richard said solemnly, his grey eyes turning into steel.

"Understood." Arthur said ignoring the nagging feeling of having been left out. He missed the days when _he _had been the boss's favorite. Now he felt like a jealous older brother and it bothered him to no end.

Arthur carefully opened the manila envelope revealing its contents. The customary photos of people and detailed information of each person accompanied with blank fake ID's and a smaller envelope with enough money to last two lifetimes, were dumped unceremoniously on the floor.

"There are forty five men we need to either kill or capture, but only one of those men _need_ to be dead, his name is King George the third. You may not recognize the name, he is a small yet powerful king; he rules Stewarts Island in New Zealand. Rumor has it that he's a very oppressing leader and his people want him out. _However_, he is still a very powerful man. The plan is to make his murder look like an accident. But not just an accident _we _believe in but an accident the supposed _shooter_ believes in as well, this is why this mission is so complex and _very _important. Are you all following me so far?" Arthur asked looking at all the faces.

"Who's the man we need to pin the blame on?" Ivan asked traces of his previous teasing gone completely, and now he was fully business.

"His name is Ruth Ambrosia," Arthur tapped at the picture of the kings number one body guard, "he's the man that needs to be fooled into thinking he killed his king."

"That's the reddest hair I've ever seen, you sure we're not going to Ireland?" Ivan joked getting a chuckle from Yao.

"Be serious now Ivan, making a man think something that they don't believe is true is near impossible. I'm going to need the best sharp shooter I know, and _you_ know him as well." Arthur said sternly, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Ah, the little Canadian? I haven't seen him since our last ski trip two years back." Ivan said to no one in particular.

"Precisely, Mathew is our only option for properly staging the shooting." Arthur said finally sitting down and running through the pages again stopping to read a couple of the facts.

"After we've got everyone, I will go over the final plan, 'til then, this is all I have." Arthur said rolling his shoulders to relieve some of the tension that had been building up since he was first introduced to this mission. If he had known... if he had known he would have still taken the mission. It was way too prominent to be left in a lower levels hand, and the boss had _personally _requested him, the mission hadn't even been posted. When this is done… forty-five people are either going to be dead, tortured then killed, or imprisoned forever; it's not like he hasn't done worse in his ten years… however, this was the most serious, murder on the first degree…

"The question still remains though… who are we getting first?" Yao asked facing Arthur.

Arthur knew that the closest to them was Francis, if he still lived in that birdcage, but Arthur was adamant on leaving him for last.

"Well, it will take about two months, maybe more, to track down our old allies, we start with the easiest though, the little Italian." Arthur said hoping no one would noticed how fast he spat _that_ out.

"Last time I checked France was closer to England than Italy." Of course leave it to Ivan to poke a hole in every bubble.

"Cork it Ivan." Arthur spat out with so much venom that it could battle the potency of a rattle snakes.

"We are going to get the little Italian first, and if we're lucky… Ludwig will also be there." It was starting to dawn on him that each one of his older colleagues were either married (in the case of Ivan and Yao, Alfred and Mathew, and even though Roddy hated to admit it, Prussia and Roderich) or in a monogamous relationship. It left Arthur feeling a bit lonely, and betrayed. He had only been fifteen… he had been too young to think that it would work out, he was fooled for two years…

"Arthur!" Arthur shook his head violently as his name was shouted.

"What- what?" Arthur asked alarmed, looking around.

"I called your name _five _times! What were you so deep in thought about?" Yao asked raising his arms.

"Just recalling past colleagues and guessing where they could possibly be." Arthur half-lied. Ivan shook his head knowing more but (by some miracle) kept his trap shut.

"So, as I was saying before Arthur spaced out, we get Feliciano first." _That's his name, Feliciano. _

"Wait didn't he have a big brother?" Ivan added looking at Arthur. Now that he mentioned it…

"Yeah, oh and he also had connections to the Spanish man, he could also be an asset." Arthur said rubbing his chin. This was starting to look better by the second.

_OOooOO_

Feliciano stood in the center of a revolving conga line with four dancers around him, they all danced to the beat of the music. He always liked underground clubs the best, they blasted music so loud you could feel it in your cells!

He grabbed a young girl by the waist and twirled her around to the beat. He dipped her, threw her in the air, and then let her dance alone as the beat picked up again. They were all slick with adrenaline and perspiration, each body driven wild by the tempo of the music, and it felt almost _hypnotic_.

He felt arms wrap around his waist and he looked straight ahead to his big brother Lovino who was just as eager as he was (which was rare because that fun sucker was well, always sucking out the fun).

"I'm glad you invited me Feli." Lovino had to shout to be heard over the music. Feliciano laughed and nodded enthusiastically, keeping their bodies in rhythm to the music.

"It was about damn time you separated yourself from that man and came to the club with me." Feliciano shouted and laughed at Lovino's expression.

"Say's the man who's attached to the hip of a German." Lovino said mockingly.

"Too shay!" Feliciano laughed starting to feel the ache in his limbs but not caring as the track kept rolling.

"You feel it to don't you?" Lovino asked a couple of minutes later as they twirled around some more.

"Yes, if they are looking for either of us, they are making it very obvious. I wonder if we should stop dancing." Feliciano mused aloud.

"Nah, it's probably nothing." Lovino assured, keeping his grip tight on his younger brother.

The conga line began to separate as the song ended and was replaced by some generic beat that meant the DJ was taking a break.

"Phew, that was fun!" Feliciano said returning to his table where the man, he was apparently attached to the hip with, sat with a small smile on his face.

"What?" Feliciano asked feeling a bit self-conscious as he lowered himself on the man's lap.

"Nothing, it's been a while hasn't it?" he asked planting a kiss on Feliciano's cheek. Even after ten years it still made Feli blush.

"You guys either get a room or get out, so sweet it's like cough syrup." Lovino said interrupting the lovers.

"You're just cranky that Antonio couldn't make it because of his business trip." Feliciano mocked sticking his tongue out.

"Oh shut up…" Lovino trailed off as he felt the eyes on his back again, he slowly turned around to catch a glimpse of bright blonde hair. _Where have I seen that before?_

"Isn't that? No, it's been far too long, what would he want now?" Feliciano mused his arms tightening around his lover's neck.

"Feli… what's wrong?" The German asked noticing the sudden shift of emotions.

"It seems someone is following us both, I don't know who though, but don't worry Ludwig the person hasn't approached us yet." Feliciano reassured him. He planted a small kiss on his nose and took a sip of his flavored drink.

Not too long after that he noticed the same blonde hair bobbing closer.

"Feliciano, Lovino… it's been a while hasn't it?" The voice came from behind them making Feliciano jump. He instantly recognized the person. How could he not the man had been with his brother for two years before he suddenly disappeared for ten.

"My, my, my, you have not changed a bit English bastard." Lovino said a smirk plastered on his face.

"Last time I recalled his name was Arthur, Lovino, don't be a little brat." Feliciano warned. Even after so long, there was still bad blood.

"Thank you Feliciano, nice to see you to Lovino, hello Ludwig." Arthur said ignoring Lovino's insult and drawing up a chair. Ludwig nodded his way to acknowledge the greeting.

"As to your earlier question, yes, it has been a while, how have you been?" Feliciano asked, pity written all over his face, everyone in the group knew what his brother had done, and everyone was truly disappointed.

"Don't go there… apart from _that, _I'm fine." Arthur said feeling like a baby under the older man's gaze.

"Oh… good, that's good, um, so why are you here?" Feliciano asked rocking his hips a bit to the music, much to the discomfort/pleasure of Ludwig.

"I have a proposition to make… and I need you to hear me out." Arthur said eyeing them seriously.

"Proposition away, but _I'm_ not interested." Lovino said downing his drink, and ignoring everyone until…

"So you're telling me you don't miss thrusting the barrel of a gun down the throat of your enemies and then pulling the trigger?" Arthur said, unfortunately for both of them, they were more alike than different, and if Arthur was trigger happy, Lovino was a trigger puppy.

It was almost a bit of an obsession/fetish for Lovino, the feeling of power, it drugged him but instead of making him clumsy, it made him the best shooter in the team.

"I take that back then. I'm listening." Lovino said, focusing now on what Arthur was saying.

_Hook, line and sinker. _

**Next Chapter: Italian wine is the most fine.**

AN: Hello Everyone, I hope you are enjoying it so far, I would appreciate it greatly if you could review and tell me what you think! How's my coming back story doing?


	4. Italian Wine is the Most Fine

Italian Wine is the Most Fine:

_He was fifteen when they first approached him. At first he ran away knowing that these people meant bad business, but… but one of their members caught his eye, and it was obvious (at least to him) that the connection was mutual. _

"_Your name?" The blonde one asked him one time while he was eating his lunch quietly. Arthur didn't have many friends, and the one's he did have, ate lunch at a different time. _

"_Arthur, yours?" Arthur retorted taking a bite out of his apple, the blonde one really had some nice looking eyes, deep and blue like the ocean… he seemed to have lean in a bit closer because the older man blushed a bit and leaned back. _

"_Sorry… I didn't mean to, you have very nice eyes." Arthur said finishing his apple so he had somewhere else to look._

"_Likewise." The blonde said leaving without giving him his name. He came again of course. _

"_You still didn't give me a name." Arthur accused giving him the extra apple he had brought today. Funny story, he had had an argument with himself about bringing the apple in the first place, for thirty minutes he discussed how ridiculous he was being until he caved in a brought the apple along anyway. He was glad the blonde one had showed, if not… he would have had an extra apple in his bag mocking him. _

"_Oh, _my_ name? Francis." Francis held out his hand to shake it with Arthur, Arthur took it, his hand feeling small in comparison. He took it back and stared at it oddly._

_They sat there in silence and stared at the other students. _

"_Why do you want me to join so badly?" Arthur asked finally, the question that had been bothering him since the moment they approached him. He was nothing special, just some kid, some _adopted _kid, who had only his head behind him. _

"_We saw the fight you were in the other day; you have potential, if you were trained of course." Francis said finally taking a bite out of his apple. _

"_Oh, _that_ little fiasco? And what do you mean potential?" Arthur asked looking up at the older man. He really did have a set of eyes on that face. _

"_Yeah, just think about it, you don't have to quit school just yet, I know you still have three more years to go but… think about it." Francis said throwing the core of his apple backwards. Arthur was about to complain about littering when he noticed the core land directly inside the thrash can about ten feet away. _

"_How-_

_But Francis was already gone. _

_OOooOO_

"So now that you know most of the story, will you join me?" Arthur asked. Having gone over the plan he and the others had discussed earlier that week. For him to track down the current address of Feliciano took a bit of spy work and computer hacking. The earliest flight to Italy however had been a week's time, so he waited that week, shopping for the most needed casual clothing, when the _entire _gang was back together he would spend more money on more elaborate clothing. But for now, only the bare minimum.

It seems that I forgot to mention that Arthur has three guns, two knives, five daggers, and a mace grenade hidden on him at all times. No airport in their right minds would allow him to proceed. But no worries, Arthur doesn't have to _fly _with regular airports, his work provides more private jets for one person than the US president has for his entire _crew_.

How he found out _exactly _where Italy was took a lot more digging, if he had been a regular human being he would have been arrested for breaking and entering, and unauthorized recording of private calls. It made Arthur happy not to be the regular old human.

The other three were waiting in the car waiting for the signal, or waiting for Arthur to come back, whichever came first.

"Well I'm game." Lovino replied, thinking it over for about two seconds. Anything to get his hands on a gun again...

"I don't know… it all seems so unsettling… a _king_? Ludwig what do you think?" Feliciano asked. He felt compelled to say yes for the sake of old times' sake but…

"I'm pretty sure Arthur's not going to leave with a no so, yes, right now we have nothing better to do." Ludwig said nonchalant, he held Feliciano a bit closer to him.

"However, if you say no I will to." Ludwig added looking at the uncertainty on his lovers face.

"No it's fine, I mean… well alright Arthur you have my decision, yes." Feliciano finished with a smile.

"Good, because the first five people are here." Arthur said pushing a button on the inside of his pocket, this alerted the other three to close the doors and lock them all inside, the signal. The music now rang a bit louder and had a "boom" ever other two beats, perfect for concealing the sound of a gun going off.

Lovino was on high alert now waiting for the orders of Arthur.

Arthur handed all three of them a gun looking around them to make sure people were too distracted to notice what was about to go down.

"The first one, and listen very carefully, _nothing absolutely nothing, _can go wrong," Arthur took out his own hidden gun and loaded it, "the first one has a neon green jacket on, the letters on the back spell J.C. and are in bright orange. He's wearing yellow neon glasses, his hair is down to his neck and dances with a limp, his shoes are dark blue and his jeans a moss green, other than that I couldn't make out. Lovino I give that one to you, Feliciano, Ludwig follow me." Arthur ordered rising slowly.

The music playing around them was a complete contradiction, such a happy carefree sound.

_One, two BOOM, one, two BOOM, one, two_ _BOOM. _

Arthur counted the beats steadily in his head as he focused on the other man; he closed one eye and pulled the trigger, the bullet barely missing a dumb girl who had stepped out of place on the last second.

He dropped like a fly and not a sound was heard.

Lovino returned looking very excited. His eyes shone with mirth as he hungrily awaited the next victim. Maybe he let too much show.

"Two down, three to go, Ludwig do you see that-

"OH MY GOD!" There was a loud squeal coming from where Arthur had just shot at, the music stopped completely and everyone noticed the two dead bodies, people started running for their lives towards the only exit… that was currently blocked. People screamed and begged for mercy, they shouted to be let out.

"No time! Shoot where I point!" Arthur shouted, good thing he had thought of _this _consequence ahead of time.

Arthur pointed to his left as one of the men tried to run the opposite direction to the _employee's only _exit. The screaming drowned out the otherwise deafening shot Ludwig had let out. The man dropped like a fly. Arthur saw the other two take notice as to where the shot came from and saw them pull out their guns.

"Not this time!" Arthur pointed to the two remaining men and Feliciano took the one on the right while Arthur the one on the left.

He pushed the button again and suddenly the screaming mob was being ushered out faster than if there had been a FREE sign on a Name Brand store.

Arthur pushed them to run and confiscate every Item, including their guns, make it seem like they never existed outside of a party scene.

_OOooOO_

"That was fun." Lovino said lying back on a hotel bed. They had just finished burning the pictures and information of the first five dead; they looked inside the wallets and took all the ID's for proof and all the money for convenience. The extra artillery was nice as well.

"Fun? We almost got caught." Arthur said tossing the now empty wallets in the fire as well.

"Yeah, that's the fun part!" Lovino said excitedly.

"I don't remember you being so eager?" Yao said to Lovino. "It was usually your brother no?"

"I can be eager to." Lovino said sounding insulted, until he was bouncing on the bed from joy. It had been _so long._ He forgot how the adrenaline used to pump in his veins with every step he took to get closer to his victim. He could feel how the drugged feeling allowed him to focus his red gaze on the precise location he wanted the bullet to go into, the wonderful sensation as the trigger was squeezed sending shockwave after shockwave up his arm and it seemed the bullet flew in slow motion as it penetrated the skin cleanly.

Maybe he was a _little_ obsessed.

"Other than that little hiccup with the people everything went according to plan." Arthur congratulated, his one man band suddenly getting larger.

There was a frantic knock on the door and Arthur shushed everyone as he prepared his gun to shoot.

"Who is it?" Arthur asked stalking slowly towards the door.

"_Abre la maldita puerta_!" A very angry Spaniard demanded pounding on the door.

Arthur rolled his eyes unloaded his gun and placed it back on the table. He opened the door and was almost knocked over as the Spaniard rushed it.

"Oh Lovino, _amor, _are you alright, I got the call, are you okay? Let me check you, not a bruise, or a scratch, are you sure you are fine? Let me see your pupils, they are fine to-

"_Antonio_, stop I'm not a baby." Lovino demanded annoyed at how easily his lover could just turn him over and check _everything_.

"I know, but you are _my _baby, and I worry greatly when you're not there." Antonio said stopping his check up and kissing Lovino on the forehead.

"Hello Antonio, long time no see." Arthur said his eyes darkening slightly, okay so maybe he was a _little _jealous.

"Arthur! Oh dear, for the longest time I thought you were dead, what with what Francis did to you-

Antonio realized his mistake a bit too late. The entire room stood still their breaths in their lungs waiting for Arthur's reaction.

"Yeah, sorry I couldn't contact you earlier… I think I'm going to retire for tonight… if you need me, don't, we'll talk tomorrow." Arthur said quietly, composed, for the sake of his colleagues. He walked over to his own room and closed the door a bit too softly; it would have made everyone feel better if he had slammed it, or torn it off its hinges, or both.

"Dumb-ass." Lovino said slapping Antonio in the arm.

"Ouch, I didn't mean to it slipped." Antonio said apologetically.

"I guess we should fill you in… Hi I'm Richard, and I'll take over until Arthur can give you the full details of our mission, I hope you will join us?" Richard asked extending his pale hand to Antonio.

"Yes, if my Lovi is in this then so am I." Antonio said, shaking the hand. He still felt incredibly bad because of what he said.

_OOooOO_

Arthur hated to admit he was crying, hated to admit that after ten years he couldn't even _hear _the name without every memory being (good and bad) shoved down his throat sent straight to his brain.

He hated to admit he was still in love.

He clutched his pillow tighter as the barely containable sobs rocked his body. How was he supposed to deal with _seeing _him if this is how he got about _remembering _him?

If any of his teammates saw him like this, he would be considered weak and unfit for the Agency.

He curled into a ball as the feeling got worse. He wished he could just shout it out, get it out of his chest, but instead he had to deal with the pressure building. He clutched the hotel pillow until his knuckles were close to breaking.

_Get out of my head_. Arthur begged but to no avail, everything he had ever done was resurfacing, he felt like he was going to drown in these feelings.

When he woke up the next morning, he couldn't even remember when he had gone to sleep.

**Next Chapter: Morning Dew (this is a filler chapter more like a dream, well you'll see)**

AN: I actually started crying in this one LOL, call me pathetic.


	5. Morning Dew

Morning Dew:

_Arthur was sixteen when he received his first kiss. It was actually a birthday present. _

"_I didn't have a chance to get you anything else so here." That was the first thing Francis said as he approached Arthur before planting a big one on his lips. _

"_Wha-what are you doing?" Arthur demanded half in a daze. Sure he had enjoyed it (and maybe he wanted another one) but he (meaning Francis) had no right. _

"_It _is _your birthday today isn't it?" Francis asked innocently though the look in his eyes was a playful one. _

"_How did you know _that_?" Arthur asked his cheeks getting a darker shade of red than it had been previously. _

"_Oh… yeah, I have access to some inside info, sorry if I was too forward." Francis apologized sincerely, his face a bit flushed. _

"_Is this what you get everyone for their birthday when you forget to buy them a present?" Arthur asked bitterly, he had been crushing on Francis for a year now and he coming up and kissing him (on his birthday to!) wasn't helping his resolve. _

"_No! Only you, I mean…" Francis trailed off avoiding Arthur's gaze. _

"_Is _that _what you tell everyone?" Arthur teased smiling. With a reaction like that he had no other choice but to believe Francis. _

"_Thank you… for the gift." Arthur said a couple of minutes later. _

"_You are welcome. Has anyone else given you anything?" Francis asked, feeling relieved things didn't get even more awkward. It wasn't as if he had been _planning _the kiss. (Okay maybe a little, but how do you _not _plan something like this!) _

_At the moment he wasn't really sure what to get Arthur; he thought it was a bit too early (and obvious) if he had given him a gun, plus he supposed Arthur might get expelled if they confiscated it from him. _

_Birthday presents were always hard for Francis. There were so many variables, you might as well give them money and let them buy what they wanted themselves. _

"_No," Francis had been so lost in thought he jumped a bit when Arthur spoke, "I don't even think my parents even remembered." _

"_I'm pretty sure your real parents would have gotten you something." Francis mumbled leaning his chin on his hands. _

_The wind blew softly, ruffling their hair._

"_How did you know I was adopted?" Arthur asked looking at Francis oddly. It seemed the man knew more about him than he let on. Maybe it had something to do with his job. _

"_Wait Francis, are you a spy?" Arthur asked. He began scooting away slowly, one inch at a time. _

"_You could call it that." Francis replied carefully, noticing the slow retread but not saying anything; he had already said and done too much. _

"_Why do you want me in the team so badly?" Arthur asked again a hard edge to his tone, he was eyeing Francis for a specific reaction. _

"_I already told you why a year ago." Francis spoke slowly, as if he were talking to a child. He kept his gaze calm and his body steady, he knew Arthur was analyzing him and one slip up could mean a loss of a great apprentice… and then some. _

"_You said I had potential, prove it." Arthur said, hands to his hips and his lips jutting out a little bit. Francis stood up from the picnic table he had been sitting on and stretched. However, his hand jutted out like a cobra snakes head, aiming straight for Arthur's own. Arthur avoided the strike with a shocked look on his face._

"_Hey! What the hell was that for?" Arthur demanded, his heartbeat pounding loudly in his ears. _

"_You said to prove it, I just did. Not many people can avoid a blow like that, especially with my speed. Your reflexes are inherited." Francis said smiling approvingly; he started to walk away when Arthur stopped him. _

"_Di- did you know my parents?" Arthur asked hesitantly, he still didn't know how old Francis was (for all he knew, Francis could be old enough to be his father and is just such an awesome person that his body didn't betray him by aging.)_

"_I knew _of _them, but no, not personally." Francis said not really turning around. He waited a moment longer to see if Arthur would say anything else. _

"_Think about it, I may not be able to come back tomorrow…"Francis whispered. With that he left Arthur feeling more confused than before they had met. _

OOooOO

_Francis had been coming there at around the same time every day (with the exception of weekends and holydays) for an entire year. _

_When ten minutes had passed and Francis still wasn't there Arthur began to worry._

_What if something bad had happened? _

_What if he was late because they killed him?_

_What if he had left for a mission and wouldn't be able to return?_

_(And the one that he didn't want to admit.)_

_What if he had left because he didn't want to be around Arthur anymore?_

_After twenty minutes and a no show Arthur's appetite had been lost and his mind was eerily clear. _

"_I was going to say yes you know." Arthur said to the air, hoping against hope that his message would travel across the air like a bottle in the sea and reach Francis's ears… wherever they were. _

_Twas a week before he saw that smug motherfucker again. _

"_And where exactly have _you _been? Do you have any _idea _how worried I was about you? Why didn't you give me a proper warning? You bastard! Where were you? Do you have any idea what I've been _through_? Why won't you answ-_

_Francis shut the flaming Britt up with a breathtaking kiss, his longer arms trailed down the other's back making the younger (inexperience one) jump straight into Francis's body… if they were caught so help the poor sucker (with a capital F) who dared interrupt them. _

"_Missed you to." Francis whispered after breaking the kiss, Arthur was definitely more than surprised and his teenage hormones weren't helping either. _

"_Where were you?" Arthur asked softly; still not ready to separate his body from Francis's own. _

"_An errand, sorry if I worried you," he brought their noses together and brushed them softly against each other "didn't mean to." _

"_You're a bastard you know that?" Arthur said, though the insult lost its effect because he sounded very light headed._

"_Ouch, my parents are _actually dead, _so I'm more like an orphan really." Francis said with a hurt look on his face. _

"_Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to!" Arthur apologized, his face instantly changing with concern and a lot of _feeling_. Francis would have to work on that, Arthur would need to know that emotions that strong weren't allowed in this profession. But he would tell him that later. _

"_Kidding, my parents are alive and well, though they'd kill me if they knew I had said something like that about them." Francis said regretting the moment he did because Arthur instantly angered (again) and pushed him off. _

"_Bastard." Arthur said, if Francis hadn't been so cold with the sudden loss of body heat, he would have laughed. It actually seemed that steam was coming out of Arthur's ears. _

"_Sorry, sorry, you know… you fluctuate through emotions very easily, it's almost as if you were a girl on her menstrual cycle." Wrong move Francis. _

"_I'm leaving!" Arthur almost shouted as he grabbed his bag and started stomping off… if it hadn't been for those long French arms that wrapped around his waist pulling him backwards. _

"_I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please don't leave?" Francis begged, setting his best puppy dog eyes on Arthur (when he was younger those eyes always allowed him to get away with everything, no one could resist the eyes)._

"_Let go!" Arthur commanded as he tried to get out of the vice-like grip on his waist and also try to ignore the melting effect those eyes had on his anger (which was an ironically contradictory oxymoron statement). _

"_Please?" Francis begged one last time noticing the way Arthur was cracking under the gaze. _

"_Fine, I won't leave, but please let me go." Arthur asked quietly. He noticed the way Francis immediately tensed up._

"_Never Arthur, never." At that time Arthur knew enough French to go to the bathroom, a phone, get a glass of water, and how to ask if anyone spoke English, so he hadn't understood what Francis had said, however, he knew it was very important. _

_They stayed like that a second longer before (with a final squeeze) Francis let him go. _

"_Oh and Francis?" Arthur alerted the older man that he was going to speak. _

"_Mm yes?" Francis asked looking down from his usual spot on the table. _

"_It's a yes… I will join you guys."_

OOo_oOO_

Arthur rubbed the headache that had started soon after he had woken up.

He got up and went straight to the window, it was raining (pouring actually), and he stared at the little drops hitting against the windowsill.

Why did he remember that particular memory?

Oh yeah that's right.

He should have said no.

**Next Chapter: Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2 **(can you guess who we are getting next? *wiggles eyebrows*)


End file.
